Economic Development in Singapore

By Steve Ong
Singapore's history is one of riches and romance spice trading and piracy, colonialism and growth. In the 7th century, she was the Temasek, the trading center of Sumatra's ancient Srivijaya empire.

In 1963, Singapore was part of a political and economic alliance formed between the Federation of Malaya, Sarawak and North Borneo which is now Sabah under the nation of Malaysia. This alliance, proposed by the Malayan Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, was called Malaysia, and proved to be short-lived.

In 1965, Singapore separated from the Malaysian Federation to become an independent republic. Over 45 years, Singapore has relentlessly pursued the goal of becoming Asia's Pre-eminent center for tourism, trade and finance, by developing education and technical training programs, investment strategies, aviation and environmental policies.

Now the small island republic of only 633 square kilometers, boasts the world's busiest port and an airport served by over 70 of the world's major airlines, serving more than 21 million airline passengers year. This diamond-shaped island is only 224 square miles with the population of 6 million.

As a major tourist destination, Singapore welcomes an average of 12,000 visitors each day.

Singapore has a highly developed market-based economy that depends heavily on exports and refining imported goods, especially in manufacturing, electronics, petroleum refining, mechanical engineering and biomedical science sectors which could in the website in Wikipedia.

This nation is a good example of model urban planning and a former colony of Great Britain, it is a tiny city state. It is a member of Association of Southeast Asian Nation or known as ASEAN. Singapore is a major international hub in whole Asia, it is positioned on many sea and air trade routes.

Slum areas were eliminated and the urban planners have been knowledgeable about the planning experiences in other parts of the world especially in Western Cities.

It is hoped that major cities in the Philippines such as Manila, Cebu, and Davao can learn a lesson from Singapore.